Paraty is a small city surrounded by mountains on the Green Coast of Brazil, nestled in a small bay with beaches located 250 kilometers west from Rio de Janeiro, between Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. Paraty is a Portuguese colonial center with cobblestone streets and buildings from 17th and 18th centuries when it was a port during gold rush in Brazil. Among its iconic sites of architecture, is the Capela de Santa Rita facing the sea, a whitewashed church built in 1722.
There are peculiarities that make Paraty a very attractive destination, beyond its heavenly beaches. Paraty is 5 MASL and often cause streets to be literally bathed by the sea water, people say that is an excellent way to "wash" the city. These small floods have caused many people to call Paraty Brazilian Venice.
Tours in Paraty may let you love history and lifestyle of this small town while enjoying all natural wealth that surrounds it. Historic Center is considered National Historical Heritage due to importance of its architectural ensemble. Throughout its cobbled streets where circulation of automobiles is forbidden, churches and colonial mansions are built mostly white painted and very well maintained, so when taking a quiet walk through Historic Center you can not avoid having the feeling that it has receded several centuries in time. there is something curious that many of walls of those old colonial houses you can find mysterious Masonic symbols, another of Paraty's hallmarks.